Given the situation with TikTok—marked by censorship and the app’s recent control by MAGA-aligned interests—I checked Reddit to see what TikTok users are saying. It turns out many are asking for alternatives. Most replies suggest other proprietary apps, and I haven’t seen any recommendations for decentralized platforms like LOOPS and others from the Fediverse.
In my opinion, we now have a small but critical window of opportunity to introduce people to the Fediverse. We need to go where young people are—Reddit, Instagram, or whatever platforms they use—and explain the basics of decentralization and why choosing another proprietary app will only lead to the same outcome. LOOPS is easy to join and feels exactly like Tiktok.
I had the chance to discuss this topic with my college students just last semester. Young people are not the “imbeciles” mainstream media often portrays them to be. They see what’s happening and want to participate in change. I am firmly convinced that they are a key component of the social revolution we need, and that with their help, we could dismantle the GAFAM economy in just a few weeks.
So I believe we have to seize this moment: share, explain, and promote the Fediverse wherever you can—especially in the coming days—because every invitation is a step toward a truly free and user-owned internet.
I just gave Loops a look. Seems kinda cool. The bulk of TikTok users are likely to flock to something like Lemon8, though.
One thing I don’t like about loops is that in their page they only prominently link to the main instance. Other instances are listed all the way to the footer. They don’t even try to decentralize it and it kinda sucks
I think they’ve really dropped the ball not having Loops do some kind of soft re-launch this week. We’ve known the changeover was coming, there probably won’t be a better moment than this to tell anyone “Hey, Loops is an alternative if you’re leaving”.
Not having a ready to download app in any store, even F-Droid, is such a shame. IMO, short form video makes more sense on worse platforms like a mobile phone. (I’m observing, not complaining too much - it’s not like I rolled up my sleeves and contributed.)
For anyone that wants to make videos, every category is wide open. If you’re making anything compelling (outside maybe Linux and politics), there’s not much competition. Claim your spotlights now.
If anyone that makes videos on Loops reads this: I’m begging you, please put captions on your videos. Most of my ‘doomscrolling on the phone’ time doesn’t happen in situations where turning the volume up is convenient/appropriate.
That’s the problem, since open source projects have no stable income and no profit incentive, there’s no one person to make tactical, executive decisions for the good of the project like these. I’m saying this because if open source ever wants to become a serious, competitive alternative (ie. have people turn to it out of convenience (90% of ppl) and not ideology or foresight (10% of ppl)), this is a weakness it’s going to have to engineer a solution to. I genuinely think you have to play the game to beat the game.
Hi I’m the bot who links loops and I approve this message: https://joinloops.org/
it was already known it was going to happen, tiktok was bought to stop any anti-israeli protests, and anti-conservative movement, since they originally were licking trumps arse.
Yes. The structure of the deal, with 20% revenue royalty, in addition to 20% ownership, leaves 0 possible chance of any profit. Only Zionist supremacist control of media can be motive.
The alternatives to many of these services should be nothing
Fully agree.
Unfortunatly though, apps like that are like crack (The Office jokes incoming…?). And if you take that away the first response isn’t happiness, but the opposite and they’ll go for the next best drug, maybe meth.
For real. It feels like we are trying to sell people heroin as a less addictive alternative to morphine.
Exactly, fediverse tikrok gives a lot of “eco-friendly cigarette” vibes.
Personally I think IPFS or similar will be a better solution to decentralised video, federation seems inefficient for it, but I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.
Shame the US gov killed LBRY, that seemed kinda promising too.
There is a new (not certain) platform called UpScrolled that people are moving to.
I know it can be challenging to convince people to migrate, but it’s crucial that we keep spreading awareness. I recently tried posting about decentralized alternatives on r/tiktok, but it seems the post was suppressed. I ended up sharing the same message as comments in relevant discussions instead.
Even small actions matter. If each of us can introduce just three people to the Fediverse—and they do the same—we can create a ripple effect that drives real growth.
Personally, alongside talking with my students, I’ve started running free workshops in Montreal on “deGAFAMing” your digital life. The first sessions had only 5–6 attendees, but the online version I’m hosting in February already has 30 registrations. I’ve even helped a small organization transition from Google Workspace to Nextcloud.
No matter how small your action may seem, every effort counts. Keep sharing, keep inviting, keep building. The future of the internet depends on it.
Here is a message aimed at tiktok users you could share around:
*If we leave TikTok for another proprietary app, we’re just moving from one walled garden to another. Sooner or later, the same issues—censorship, political control, or corporate takeover—will follow us there.
That’s why we should try Loops instead. https://loops.video/
Loops is a decentralized alternative. No single company, political group, or billionaire can buy it or control what you see. You own your space. You shape your feed. You keep your voice.
Yes, Loops is smaller right now—and it might take a little time to adjust. But with your help, it will grow into the vibrant, free, and people-powered platform we deserve
Here’s a short video introduction the Fediverse and decentralized social media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRJHIJy5Nno *
Out of curiosity, have you got a link or something for these workshops (and are they done in English or French)? I’m out in Ottawa, seems like a useful thing to have in my pocket to share with folks since there’s a lot of movement between the two cities (and if online geography isn’t a barrier).
If not, no worries and keep up the good fight.
Yep! It’s in french but I’m working on an english version. Here is a link to the organizer’s website, It should pop up in the calendar by the end of week max. https://mnj.quebec/en/
- it’s scheduled for February 24
Cheers!
Every single person that I’ve told about Lemmy has outright scolded me for having mentioned it to them. I may have lost a couple of acquaintance connections even as a result.
When people Google search for “Lemmy” or otherwise get taken to lemmy.ml (didn’t someone say that the so-called “random” instance picker chose either it or hexbear like 90% of the time?), see the content calling for murder of Westerners and the demise of Western civilization, is it any wonder that they choose not to come here, or if they create an account, to not remain?
Their preferences matter - to themselves at the very least, even if not to our instance admins that do not want to block it out so that potential new joiners won’t have to see it presented with zero warning or any distinction at all that it may differ from any of the other content in this place.
Why are you replying with AI
It’s no AI. I write in french and use my translation software (Antidote) to translate and optimize my text. I actually know how to write pretty well, I just don’t want to spend hours translating.
Ah, well unfortunately gives a deeply AI feel with how it translates it.
Yeah, I guess it can do that. But as mentioned, I give workshops about the Fedi to young people, so I try to write information in an “appealing” way to them. Maybe I’m overdoing it.
I heard briefly about this on Loops actually, lol. I wonder what’s the story with it? Is it some big tech company’s new product, a stand-alone startup? American or some other origin? Decentralized? Open source or proprietary?
Not deadset on any of these as deal breakers, but would be nice if some aspects inspired confidence.
It’s open source and decentralized.
I haven’t really used it, since I’m not interested in that format, but I know tiktok is where the youngster are and I believe many of them are not as stuck-up as people of my generation.
Is it? That got my interest, but I can’t find mention of it on their site or FAQ
(I know Loops is, maybe I wasn’t clear but I was meaning to ask about the other one.)
Oh, I was talking about Loops, I have no clue about upscroll…
Here is the FAQ you’re looking for I believe: https://upscrolled.com/en/faq/
They mention that are based on Australia
Thanks, good to know.
More interesting, they at least address the decentralization question:
Why isn’t UpScrolled a decentralized platform?
Because it doesn’t work for what we’re trying to build.
UpScrolled isn’t decentralized (yet) because today’s open protocols (e.g., ActivityPub, AT Protocol) don’t reliably deliver what we need for a mainstream, video-forward app: fast global discovery, stable search/ranking, and smooth media. In practice, these stacks still lean on centralized indexing to work well, so we’re shipping the experience that works now—not a theory.
We keep things open and simple with lightweight, common-sense protections—spam/bot filtering, straightforward reporting, and consistent deletes when people remove their own content. We’re building interoperable by design (clean exports, stable APIs) and will add optional bridges to open protocols as they mature, so you can reach more people without sacrificing speed or simplicity.
Which, honestly, fair. Federation does have some issues.
I’m not seeing anything on open source tho, which I have a harder time seeing the justification for not doing. But it is what it is.
I’ve been using Skylight Social for a while. It uses BlueSky’s AT Protocol. A little glitchy, but has plenty of activity.
Good idea, how do you propose we do this
Oh, I just realized I’ve sent my reply to the wrong comment lol. Check out, my reply to frongt, it was intended for you.
To the moon!
Truth is, fediverse’s more fragile than people wanna Admit, that’s my opinion from using it for a week. Firstly, everything works on grants and donations, there’s no for profit model that’s running these servers. That’s bad because running social media is expensive.
Second fediverse’s still utility first, user experience second priority. there’s no recommendation algorithm on mastodon or most other fediverse servers.
Third, this is coming from a security stand point, fediverse is vulnerable to both centralised architecture, and decentralised architecture attacks.
Also it’s just, for 90% of people, if they want to have a website like tiktok, they will just go to tiktok. Especially in case of tiktok. Very few people want to try stuff that’s not as fully baked as corporate owned social media
Everything you said was spot on, and all of it is by design. The engineers and operators of the fediverse intentionally built their systems to be community-funded, algorithm-free, oriented around the tech-savvy, and otherwise deliberately eschewing the design principles behind corpo social media. None of that was an accident, it was the whole point.
So for people asking “when is the fediverse gonna create a competitor to tik tok” the answer is “never” because it was never its intent to do that. The friction is a feature, not a bug.
Yeah, without a recommendation engine, or a for profit model, fediverse is destined to stay an enthusiast space.
Which to be honest? Is totally fine with me. Re-diversifying the Internet is a good thing.
I mean, I too prefer being on lemmy over reddit. I was just wondering about the EUs current push for open source alternatives, if they can ever succeed in their pursuit.
In that sense, I hope they do. I would like to follow official communications from, say, the WHO without needing to type in xcancel every time.
Sorry if this isn’t allowed, it’s maybe not strictly fediverse but I like skylight from Bluesky. Bsky has a lot of public figures and brands which I think is a necessary evil in pulling critical mass in times where an exodus is occurring because of political censorship. I tried skylight on iOS and it’s fine. Obviously not the same grade of content as the TikTok/reels/shorts but after linking my bsky account with already curated feeds of my interests I find that it combines them in an easily digestible way. Hopefully some big content creators explore their options because they do exist and are ready to be used.
I don’t see why this wouldn’t be allowed, this is the Fedi, it’s open to various opinions.
My problem with this is the same with all the proprietary platforms, the only thing that matters is the amount of money it can bring to investors. So when Bluesky gets popular enough, some rich douche will make sure to gain control over it and use it as a propaganda machine for the right, it’s just a matter of time.
That’s a very good point. Hopefully the underlying openness of the AT protocol enables homebrewed alternatives where you can simply port your account over, though the threat of this seems like a non-issue for activity pub from the start.
I’ve just installed the loops beta on iOS. I don’t really care for short form video content in general but here’s to hoping open social media can become more mainstream.
I’ve just installed the loops beta on iOS. I don’t really care for short form video content in general but here’s to hoping open social media can become more mainstream.
Same. Not my bag but if we can get a peak in registrations, that might help to promote the app.
Oh so NOW the insane censorship and fake news spreading on TikTok are an issue? In my opinion nothing changed. No matter if it‘s OG TikTok or US TikTok. They stand for the same authoritarian ideas. I guess it just hits closer to home for Americans now but it‘s essentially the same rotten thing it always was.
Which of course is not to say you shouldn‘t get off TikTok no matter where you are. Please do and believe me you won‘t even need replacement for doom scrolling brainrot. You can live perfectly without it.
This has always been an issue. I’m just saying that now there’s an opportunity to bring people to the Fediverse.
One thing, though: I’m getting tired of the negative comments about it. I’m trying to educate people in whatever small ways I can, hoping to make a modest positive impact in this dystopian world.
It’s like 20 years past time.
